Read Online The Spook's Blood (Wardstone Chronicles) by Delaney Joseph - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Delaney Joseph
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Later I will prepare supper – you’re welcome to stay for the night.’
The Spook neither accepted nor declined her invitation. He simply smiled, nodded and cut himself a piece of County cheese. I helped myself to some chicken. I often had more than my fill of cheese: this was the only thing I was allowed to nibble on when we were preparing to deal with the dark.
‘What do you think of my library after your first brief inspection?’ she asked.
‘It’s an astonishing collection,’ my master said. ‘There are so many books to choose from – which leads me to two questions. Firstly, how many books are you prepared to let go, and secondly, would you accept payment in stages? I’m involved in the expensive business of rebuilding my house at the moment.’
‘The number of books you can take is, of necessity, limited. But I could see my way to selling maybe three hundred or so. The price of each will vary – some are rare indeed, while others could be replaced from other sources. There are just a few that I cannot allow to leave this library, but make your selection and we will see. It may not be a problem. As for price – we will negotiate, but I’m sure we can reach a compromise that will make us both happy. You needn’t worry about paying for them all immediately. Indeed, the cost could be paid over the course of a couple of years if you wish.’
There was a question that had been bothering me. It was an impressive library, so why did she want to reduce the stock?
‘Do you mind if I ask why you’re selling some of your books? Is it just to help Mr Gregory?’ I asked.
Mistress Fresque smiled and nodded. ‘It is partly to help your master rebuild his own library. He has done much good work and deserves help in restocking that resource to leave to his heirs. But I must confess that I am also driven by a need to carry out repairs to my own house. I inherited it just five years ago when my uncle died. He was an old man who was set in his ways – he had a great love of trees. He could not bear to break a single twig, never mind cut down anything that encroached upon the house. There has been some damage done to the foundations, and I need to enlist the services of a forester to deal with the roots. I also need a stonemason to carry out repairs to the structure of the building.’
‘Thank you, Mistress Fresque. Your offer to stagger the payments is kind and of necessity I must accept it,’ said the Spook, ‘but I can make a payment up front – one that will enable you to begin to attend to your own needs.’
I noted that my master had not addressed her by her first name, Cosmina, even though she had invited us to do so. Her superior manner and air of assurance made it seem inappropriate to be on first-name terms with her.
After we had finished our meal, Mistress Fresque took the tray and prepared to leave the room so that we could get on with our search. When she reached the doorway, she pointed to a cord hanging down beside one of the bookshelves. ‘Pull that and it will ring a bell in my quarters. Do not hesitate to summon me if there if anything you need,’ she said, giving us a smile as she left.
‘Well, lad, what I suggest is that we place any books that take our fancy on the table. It doesn’t matter if we take too many. We can make a final selection later and then return the remainder to the shelves.’ He sighed and shook his head.
‘What’s the matter?’ I asked. ‘Aren’t you happy to be able to choose from so many books?’
‘Aye, lad, that’s good – it’s just that I know that some things can’t be replaced. Just think of all those notebooks written by past spooks that I had at Chipenden; the history of their endeavours, how they solved problems and discovered new things about the dark . . . That’s all gone for ever. We won’t find such materials here.’
But the Spook was quickly proved wrong, for I soon found a book by one of his ex-apprentices – none other
The Spook neither accepted nor declined her invitation. He simply smiled, nodded and cut himself a piece of County cheese. I helped myself to some chicken. I often had more than my fill of cheese: this was the only thing I was allowed to nibble on when we were preparing to deal with the dark.
‘What do you think of my library after your first brief inspection?’ she asked.
‘It’s an astonishing collection,’ my master said. ‘There are so many books to choose from – which leads me to two questions. Firstly, how many books are you prepared to let go, and secondly, would you accept payment in stages? I’m involved in the expensive business of rebuilding my house at the moment.’
‘The number of books you can take is, of necessity, limited. But I could see my way to selling maybe three hundred or so. The price of each will vary – some are rare indeed, while others could be replaced from other sources. There are just a few that I cannot allow to leave this library, but make your selection and we will see. It may not be a problem. As for price – we will negotiate, but I’m sure we can reach a compromise that will make us both happy. You needn’t worry about paying for them all immediately. Indeed, the cost could be paid over the course of a couple of years if you wish.’
There was a question that had been bothering me. It was an impressive library, so why did she want to reduce the stock?
‘Do you mind if I ask why you’re selling some of your books? Is it just to help Mr Gregory?’ I asked.
Mistress Fresque smiled and nodded. ‘It is partly to help your master rebuild his own library. He has done much good work and deserves help in restocking that resource to leave to his heirs. But I must confess that I am also driven by a need to carry out repairs to my own house. I inherited it just five years ago when my uncle died. He was an old man who was set in his ways – he had a great love of trees. He could not bear to break a single twig, never mind cut down anything that encroached upon the house. There has been some damage done to the foundations, and I need to enlist the services of a forester to deal with the roots. I also need a stonemason to carry out repairs to the structure of the building.’
‘Thank you, Mistress Fresque. Your offer to stagger the payments is kind and of necessity I must accept it,’ said the Spook, ‘but I can make a payment up front – one that will enable you to begin to attend to your own needs.’
I noted that my master had not addressed her by her first name, Cosmina, even though she had invited us to do so. Her superior manner and air of assurance made it seem inappropriate to be on first-name terms with her.
After we had finished our meal, Mistress Fresque took the tray and prepared to leave the room so that we could get on with our search. When she reached the doorway, she pointed to a cord hanging down beside one of the bookshelves. ‘Pull that and it will ring a bell in my quarters. Do not hesitate to summon me if there if anything you need,’ she said, giving us a smile as she left.
‘Well, lad, what I suggest is that we place any books that take our fancy on the table. It doesn’t matter if we take too many. We can make a final selection later and then return the remainder to the shelves.’ He sighed and shook his head.
‘What’s the matter?’ I asked. ‘Aren’t you happy to be able to choose from so many books?’
‘Aye, lad, that’s good – it’s just that I know that some things can’t be replaced. Just think of all those notebooks written by past spooks that I had at Chipenden; the history of their endeavours, how they solved problems and discovered new things about the dark . . . That’s all gone for ever. We won’t find such materials here.’
But the Spook was quickly proved wrong, for I soon found a book by one of his ex-apprentices – none other
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